


Alright Then

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Category: Archer's Goon - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Awful has powers, Future Fic, Gen, Howard worries, Magic, farming things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 05:21:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/935869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the following prompt:<br/>the one where AWFUL IS NOT ALLOWED TO GET INVITED TO RULE THE WORLD, NO, SERIOUSLY.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alright Then

**Author's Note:**

> _Written for a[prompt](http://betony.dreamwidth.org/1815.html?thread=8983#cmt8983) at the Diana Wynne Jones ficathon._

Of all Hathaway’s descendants, none had ever shown any of the powers that the original seven siblings had. With each subsequent generation any unusual knacks or talents any of them might have had disappeared, and by Catriona and Quentin Sykes’ generation there was absolutely no sign of any magical ability at all.

Which, as Torquil said later, meant that it flew in the face of all probability when at fourteen years old, Awful came into powers of her own. Erskine just said that that was Awful all over.

Howard thought that both of them were right. If anyone went against what was expected, it was Awful, who at fourteen was in many ways a fair-haired version of Shine, in personality as well as looks. This was rather daunting to Howard, who hadn’t been old enough to know what Shine was like as a child; but since Awful had suddenly started to show a hitherto non-existent interest in behaving like a young lady instead of, well, Awful (although she was still as headstrong and uncomplimentary as ever) Torquil said consolingly that perhaps she wouldn’t turn out to be nearly as bad as Shine had. Erskine just snorted and said “End up more like Dillian, maybe.” Since this was undoubtedly possible, Howard didn’t feel particularly comforted by either of his brother’s remarks.

More pressing, really, was the fact that as it was, with her own powers coming on, Awful was quite capable of farming things, as the original seven had done. And there was no one, apart from Howard and Torquil and Hathaway and Erskine, to prevent her from farming the world if she chose to.

This was assuming that they were even interested in trying to stop her, of course. Howard hadn’t forgotten how Erskine had looked at grown-up future Awful, all those years ago, and it was quite possible that Erskine would rather farm the world with Awful than do anything to stop her. She was a schoolgirl right now, but she wasn’t going to be one always, and Howard knew that one day this was going to be a problem.

Awful seemed to have picked up on at least some of Howard’s fears, if not all of them.

“Honestly, Howard,” she said, pouring tea daintily into delicate china tea cups. Howard had a sudden mental image of grown-up Awful doing the same. “I don’t know what you’re so worried about. I’d do a good job of farming the world.”

“We packed the others off into space for a reason,” Howard told her. Awful made a face that wasn’t ladylike at all.

“Don’t be a spoilsport. _Erskine_ says that when I’m grown up, he’d be quite happy to share farming the world with me.”

“Oh does he,” Howard said grimly, and made a mental note to have a talk with his brother. Erskine was planning ahead, it seemed.

“Yes. So if he can believe in me, why can’t you?” Awful huffed. “Brothers. You’re all the same.”

Howard wondered when Awful had been exposed to other people’s brothers.

“I thought none of the girls at school talked to you about these things?” he asked. Awful sent him a look that suggested that he was being dense.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t _listen_. I’m very good at eavesdropping,” Awful added proudly.

This was quite true, Howard knew, but since he wasn’t exactly innocent in this regard himself, he let it pass.

“I don’t think we should control other people,” he said to Awful.

“I don’t want to farm people, Howard, I want to farm _things_ ,” Awful replied, as though that were the end of the matter.

The problem was, Howard reflected, and the part that Awful didn’t seem to understand, was that if you controlled things, you ended up controlling people along with them. Whether it was money or electricity or transport or education or crime, they all affected people one way or another. Howard had seen where it led, and he didn’t like it.

He went to see Erskine.

“If you lead my sister astray, I will do terrible things to you,” Howard told his brother.

Erskine gave him a considering sort of look, as though he was wondering whether it might not be worth whatever terrible things Howard might do to him. 

Howard glowered.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Erskine placidly. 

Howard sighed.

He went to visit Hathaway next, on the grounds that Hathaway was the one person who might actually understand why Howard was so concerned.

Hathaway listened thoughtfully over a mug of mead.

“I see,” he said, when Howard had finished explaining. “You do realise that you cannot actually do anything to stop her, once she comes fully into her own.”

“I know,” Howard said gloomily.

“All that you can do is steer her in the right direction, and hope that when the time comes, you have had some influence on her,” said Hathaway gravely.

“That,” said Howard, “is exactly what I was afraid of.”

But he sat Awful down and talked to her anyway, and told her how much her notion of farming the world worried him, how much it always had (because Awful really did take after all of them), and that their powers meant that they had responsibilities and they couldn’t simply take what they liked, no matter how easy it was.

“I worry about you going wrong, like the others did,” Howard finished simply.

Awful sighed long-sufferingly.

“Stupid. That’s what I have _you_ for,” she told Howard, as though he should already have known.

“Oh,” said Howard.

Well. Alright then.

 

 


End file.
